These Red Feelings
by LeonaWriter
Summary: He'd always seen her as somewhat out of his league, and she'd always wondered why he didn't fawn over her like everyone other than Kid did. It was going to get brought up at some point.


The first time he saw her, he found himself blushing, and wondered if this was what the girls who'd always thrown themselves at him felt like.

He'd looked away, both out of faint embarrassment and the hope that the fluttering feeling in his stomach would go away if he kept his focus on his class work.

The thing was, it didn't work - thoughts of red hair invaded his normally sharp mind to the point of distraction. He took the other girls' chocolates out of politeness, but when he remembered the crowd that had been around her, he realised that to her, he was just one more face, one more in the crowd.

She was out of his league.

Oddly enough though, after a while she seemed to loosen up, talk more freely. The reason was evident simply by observation - Kuroba Kaito. Kuroba must have, somehow, been able to steal her heart just like his gems.

Saguru almost wished he could feel jealous, angry, but she hadn't been his to begin with, so it wasn't his place. Besides, she seemed happier now than before, even if he couldn't quite pinpoint how he knew.

Days passed and so did weeks, and it became clear to him that she knew - or at the very least suspected - about Kuroba's alter ego. In a way, he was glad. There was someone else who would understand. And it gave him something to talk about in her presence that would not leave him feeling tongue tied.

It was after he'd been away from Japan for quite some time and had already been back for a small number of Kid's heists that she turned to him one day, between classes.

"You know, from the day I arrived here, I was able to enchant every single male I met… apart from two people. Do you know who?"

He shook his head - he'd seen first hand her ability to charm her way into people's hearts, and had an idea that Kuroba was the first. But then, who was the second?

"One," she continued, "is the Kaitou Kid."

Ah. He wondered if that had anything to do with her knowing about Kuroba, or if it was mere coincidence. Unlikely that may be.

"The other," she said with more bemusement, "is you."

He blinked. Turned to look at her properly, and was caught yet again.

"What an interesting deduction," he said, a sensation of heat already rising to his cheeks. "But then, we can't always be right, Koizumi-san."

The look on her face was quite unlike any he'd seen her wear before.

... ... ... ...

Kaito found her on the school roof after class. Aoko thought he was off running errands – and in a way it was true, he wasn't entirely lying, he did have things he needed to get. They just weren't urgent. And no one had noticed him as he'd made his way up there while all the others either went home or to their after class clubs.

"Knowing you," Akako said coldly, "I suppose you know everything by now."

He shrugged.

"Hard to miss, really. You know, you should really make sure your fans don't take matters into their own hands and make life hell for him – you know what they're like, and they seem to think he pissed you off somehow."

She tensed for a moment, before relaxing again.

"I'll deal with it. And I wasn't _angry_, I was just… confused."

Kaito sighed, and scratched at the back of his head. Then, he went to where the witch was leaning on the rail, and joined her, back to the bars.

"It wasn't _that _hard to figure he had a thing for you, y'know? I mean, it was actually kind of _obvious_. If you know him."

"Well, it wasn't obvious to _me_!"

Kaito snorted, shaking his head, but when he turned to her, it wasn't to taunt or to tease. He remembered all too well what she'd been like when they'd first met. Lonely, and controlling mens' hearts to pretend that she wasn't.

He'd told her then, that he was sure there was a beautiful jewel of a heart hidden underneath the ice, that one didn't need magic to be real in order for it to simply make people smile.

He was reminded now of how there wasn't really anyone else who knew that side of her. There were people who knew or suspected he was Kid whether he liked it or not, but she… she was still pretty alone, wasn't she?

"Koizumi, you're so used to getting your way by magic, it happens in an instant – like, _pon_, and it's there!" He clapped his hands together, and a cloud of pink smoke erupted between them before starting to dissipate in the breeze. "You've never really felt you've got to look for the normal signs. You know, the ones everyone _else _goes by."

Akako didn't move, but she also didn't hex him into next week either, which he took as a good sign.

Eventually, she huffed.

"All right then. If you're such an expert, then you tell me what these signs were!"

He smiled at her and gave her a bow. No roses this time, though.

"Milady, you've come to the right person – Hakuba-watching just _happens_ to be a greatly loved sport of mine, would you know?" He could feel her glaring at him, so he got to the point. "He goes red in the face when you're around," he said in a more normal voice. "He doesn't meet your eyes. He won't even_ come up to you_ if me and Aoko aren't nearby. I've noticed him trip over his words, and Hakuba is _good_ with words. And," he said as a statement that could be final but even then didn't have to be, "he stopped flirting with Aoko _months_ ago. I know him. There's a difference between him flirting and him being his normal obnoxious, charming self."

Akako pushed herself away from the railing and stood near the centre of the school roof area, the wind blowing her hair in the wind.

"I don't see why it should bother me. It just means that things are back to normal, with everyone falling at my feet."

Kaito rolled his eyes, still staring at the sky.

"You just like the thrill, huh? Can't be happy unless you're chasing something you can't have."

"I could say the same to you, Kaitou Kid-san, who chases after legends and stardust…"

"This isn't about Kid, and yeesh, how many _times_, I'm not _him._ But-"

"_Oh?"_

He'd straightened, hands in pockets. A relaxed, laid back pose for most. She knew – or should know – better, from him.

"Hakuba's not just _smitten_, like the boys you gather around you are. For some reason, he actually, _really likes you_. So – if you hurt him or take advantage of that, you _will_ regret it."

"_My_. Are you _threatening _me, Kuroba-kun?"

He could practically feel and see the smile she was hiding behind her hand, even though she wasn't facing him.

"No. Just stating a fact."

Although that wasn't to say he wouldn't have a hand in it, he thought to himself as he 'vanished' from the rooftop. Hakuba might be an idiot and a Holmes geek of a detective and a complete fashion disaster, but he was one of _his _detectives, damn it.

Although if the detective and the witch ended up together over this, he'd only have himself to blame.


End file.
